Automatic door check and closure device



Aug. 30, 1966 A. RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ 3,

AUTOMATIC DOOR CHECK AND CLOSURE DEVICE Filed NOV. 27, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 30, 1966 A. RODRIGUEZ SANCHEZ 3,263,944

AUTOMATIC DOOR CHECK AND CLOSURE DEVICE 2 Sheers-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 27, 1963 United States Patent 3,268,944 AUTOMATIC DOOR CHECK AND CLOSURE DEVICE Alfonso Rodriguez Sanchez, 12 Arapiles, Madrid, Spain Filed Nov. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 326,462 Claims priority, application Spain, Nov. 30, 1962, 282,975; July 27, 1963, 290,375 6 Claims. (Cl. 16-49) This invention relates to an automatic door check and closure device and more particularly to such a device which is inserted in a recess in the floor.

The systems presently in use generally comprise springs which act upon the shaft or spindle upon which the door is supported and produce a torque that causes the door to close. This torque, which is proportional to the effort developed by the springs, is relatively great as it begins, necessitating hydraulic or other type dampers to control the movement. Such mechanisms, springs and hydraulic dampers require careful construction it they are to provide effective and lasting operation, but even so breaksdowns cannot be eliminated.

On the other hand, conventional floor-inserted devices are enclosed in a casing which has to be situated with great precision in its recess before the hanging of the door; this operation is difficult and has, therefore, to be done by specially trained workers.

It is a general object of the invention to improve the operation, performance and reliability, of a device of the type described by utilizing the weight of the door. To this eflFect, the door shaft is mounted on a cross piece which has on its extremities rollers which run on helical ramps, and thus the horizontal component of the weight of the door produces the closing,

In general, the doors to which the devices of the present invention are applied are made of glass, with an approximate weight of about 50 kilograms, which provides a horizontal component during the closing movement of the order of some 4 kilograms, which gives an acceleration of 10 cm./sec./sec., sufiicient so that the door may close softly without the need for damping devices.

It is another object of the invention to provide means for centering the mechanism in the box that contains it, after the latter has been embedded in the floor.

Another object is to provide the mechanism. with shock damping means, both when an attempt is made to open the door violently beyond the limits provided, and when, due to an excessive push, the door acquires an acceleration greater than normal.

Still another object is to provide a system of movable stops that either permit of leaving the door open or selectively renders said hold-open feature inoperative.

The invention will now be described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 represents a plan view of the device, from which the decorative cover plate has been removed to show the interior.

FIG. 2 is an elevation of FIG. 1 taken at line 2-2, the decorative plate being included.

FIG. 3 is a section taken at line 3-3 of FIG. 1, the decorative plate being included.

FIG. 4 is a section at line 4-4 of FIG. 1, the decorative plate included.

FIG. 5 is a detail of the stop device.

FIG. 6 is a detail of the mechanism leveling device.

FIG. 7 is a development of the cams or helical ramps.

Now referring first to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, the apparatus is encased in a box 1 embedded in the floor and consists of a shaft 2 to which is fastened a circular crown 3 by means of screws 4; this crown has a cross 3,Zb8,944- Patented August 30, 1966 member 5 on whose extremity are provided rollers 6 which rest on two cams 7 and roll thereon during the turning of the door. Each cam is formed by two helical arcs of approximately one quarter turn each, united by their upper portions. On their lower portions, there is a cylindrical recess, as is shown in the development of the cams represented in FIGURE 7. In a preferred embodiment, the cams are affixed to the body or frame of the apparatus by means of screws, although another form of fixation is not excluded, and they may also form a single unit with said body or frame.

Shaft 2 is guided by two bearings 8, which may be roller bearings, ball bearings, or the like. The upper bearing 8 is fastened to a disc 9 which has on its bottom portion an annular groove 10 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 5) to accommodate a projection 11 extending from the circular crown 3 at an angle of from the rollers, when, due to the swinging of the door, the door rises as they roll on the ramps formed by cams 7 in the closing of opening movement. The groove 10 does not go full circle but leaves a stop by 12 that, by engaging projection 11, limits the turning of the door; the position of this stop can be adjusted. by increasing or decreasing the length of said groove, according to the desired limitation of the angle of the opening. In certain cases, the stop can be omitted so as to permit free rotation of the door about its axis. In addition, there may be disposed in said groove movable stops 13 mounted on studs 14 which terminate in heads 15 with two crossed slots. These stops have the purpose of not permitting the door to be retained in the open position, and to this end they are situated in such a manner that the rollers on which the door is supported do not succeed in surmounting, as they turn, the vertex of the cams, and thus the door must return to its closed. position when said stops are in service; on the other hand, the door remains open and is retained between the vertex of the cams and the fixed stop 12 whenever the opening movement exceeds 90". In order to put the stops 13 into service and take them out of service, it is sufficient to turn them by acting on the heads 15, which are in the upper part of disc 9' and are easily accessible, even when the decorative plate 16 of the box is in place.

As stated above, the mechanism is located within a so-called loose-box and is secured thereto by means of movable supports 17 which rest against its walls and an inner cylindrical wall 18. The supports terminate at at their rear extremity in a chamfer, and on the plane determined by said chamfer rest nuts 19, whose vertical displacement is controlled by screws 20; this movement produces, in turn, a horizontal component on the supports. With this system it is not necessary that the box be perfectly centered with respect to the meridian plane of the door, since such centering can be performed at the time the door is hung. Neither is it necessary, since the mechanism is free, for the two pivot points, top and bottom, to be perfectly plumb, because the door itself will perform this truing operating by its weight when it is hung. This same system of freedom of the mechanism within the box has the result that the decorative plate 16 is always well centered with respect to the door, which ensures a pleasant appearance, since the cover it directly fastened to the mechanism and therefore centers itself with the latter,

When the door is opened violently, up to the limits imposed by the movable or fixed stops, the entire mechanism would be subject to the shock produced and could be damaged. In order to eliminate such shocks, shock damping has been provided, and to this end, the disc 9, in which the fixed and movable stops are located, is joined to the body of the mechanism by means of screws 21 which fit into slots provided in said disc 9 (FIG. 1),

thereby giving the latter a certain freedom to turn. At the bottom, said disc 9 has two lateral lugs 23 which are in contact each with a boss 24. Said bosses receive pressure from the springs 25 which in turn are retained by the nuts 26 threaded to the body of the apparatus (FIG. 4); by appropriate actuation of said nuts, the springs are compressed according to requirements, so that they absorb the energy of the shocks received.

The leveling of the apparatus is performed by means of the screws 27, represented in detail in FIG. 6, such leveling being verified by means of a spirit level 28.

I claim:

1. An automatic door closing and checking device adapted to be mounted in a recess beneath the door, comprising a rotatable door operated shaft, a crown surrounding the lower end of said shaft and rotatable therewith, rollers secured to said crown having axes normal to the axis of the door, cams forming helical ramps for said rollers, said rollers rising on said ramps when the door swings open, whereby the horizontal component of the weight of the door causes closing movement when the door is let go, a disc surrounding said shaft above and spaced from said crown, a groove in the bottom face of said disc, said groove forming an incomplete circle and leaving an ungrooved portion acting as stop, and a projection on said crown engaging said groove and 'being arrested at said stop before said rising rollers reach the vertex of each of said ramps.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said cams is formed by two arcs of a helix, of approximately A turn each, said arcs being united at their upper parts and forming a cylindrical recess at their lower parts.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising further an enclosing box, horizontally movable supports resting against the walls of said box and adjustably holding the device thereon, and vertical screws accessible from outside the box to adjust the position of said supports.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said supports terminate at the rear in a chamfer and wherein nuts are provided having a face cut conforming to the chamfer of said supports and in operative engagement therewith, said screws actuating said nuts.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said disc is mounted for slight rotatability with respect to said shaft and provided with lugs contacted by said supports, and wherein compression springs cooperate with said supports to act as shock-absorbers.

6. A device as claimed in claim 1 comprising further movable stops in said groove arranged for actuation from the outside, whereby said stops in operative positions engage said projection at a preselected angle of opening the door before said rollers reach their uppermost position on said ramps and force return of the door into its closing position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 665,603 1/1901 Henry 16 1,120,544 12/1194 Rosentreter 1655 1,655,043 1/1928 Blackwell 16--154 2,979,758 4/1961 Shead 16-55 FOREIGN PATENTS 757,599 10 /1933 France. 259,778 10 /1926 Great Britain.

B. R. GRAY, Primary Examiner.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Examiner.

J. G. GILFILLAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC DOOR CLOSING AND CHECKING DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED IN RECESS BENEATH THE DOOR, COMPRISING A ROTATABLE DOOR OPERATED SHAFT, A CROWN SURROUNDING THE LOWER END OF SAID SHAFT AND ROTATABLE THEREWITH, ROLLERS SECURED TO SAID CROWN HAVING AXES NORMAL TO THE AXIS OF THE DOOR, CAMS FORMING HELICAL RAMPS FOR SAID ROLLERS, SAID ROLLERS RISING ON SAID RAMPS WHEN THE DOOR SWINGS OPEN, WHEREBY THE HORIZONTAL COMPONENT OF THE WEIGHT OF THE DOOR CAUSES CLOSING MOVEMENT WHEN THE DOOR IS LET GO, A DISC SURROUNDING SAID SHAFT ABOVE AND SPACED FROM SAID CROWN, A GROOVE IN THE BOTTOM FACE OF SAID DISC, SAID GROOVE FORMING AN INCOMPLETE CIRCLE AND LEAVING AN UNGROOVED PORTION ACTING AS STOP, AND A PROJECTION ON SAID CROWN ENGAGING SAID GROOVE AND BEING ARRESTED AT SAID STOP BEFORE SAID RISING ROLLERS REACH THE VERTEX OF EACH OF SAID RAMPS. 